The cycling world honors Muriel Furrer

It’s Sunday morning and Zurich city center is already quite populated. Belgian and Dutch cycling fans stroll along the Limmatquai with a beer in their hand. A place of mourning for Muriel Furrer has been set up on a tree near the Wasserkirche. Candles, pictures and flowers commemorate the 18-year-old cyclist who died in an accident at the World Cup in Zurich.

Early on Sunday morning, the originally planned people’s race was quickly converted into a memorial ride. Around 1,500 mourners took part, including the Swiss professional riders, the World Cup sports director Olivier Senn and the president of the world association, David Lappartient. The lap started in the dark; as the ride on the city circuit of the World Championship track progressed, the sun crept over the horizon for the first time in days.

 

The sun was good after the gloomy days when tears and rain flowed incessantly. The death of the young Zurich Oberlander Furrer left no one unmoved. She fell in the junior women’s race on Thursday and succumbed to severe head injuries on Friday.

Dutch star Mathieu van der Poel said: “Even though I didn’t know her, this hits me very hard. Everyone who sits on the bike is severely affected by this.” Many of the drivers who were in action on Saturday remembered Furrer with posts on social networks or in interviews. They wore mourning ribbon or wrote “Ride for Muriel” on their starting number. They couldn’t get the accident out of their minds even during the race.

Belgian world champion Lotte Kopecky was the first to speak about Furrer after her victory, and Italian bronze medalist Elisa Longo Borghini said: “Racing is a way for me to celebrate her life.”

The most difficult race of her life

Saturday was particularly emotional for the Swiss women. Nobody forgoes the race; at the start of the road race in Uster, the six drivers stand arm in arm in the rain during the minute’s silence. They drive for four hours in constant rain, it’s cold, and many reach the finish shivering despite the effort. It was probably the most difficult race of her life, says Noemi Rüegg, who finished eleventh. Sometimes she struggles for words in the mixed zone. “Under the circumstances, that was all I could give.”

The para-cyclists also remember Furrer. “We are all a family,” says Flurina Rigling after her second world title as she cries during the finish interview. Silver medalist Franziska Matile-Dörig explains why she is grateful to be able to run the race even in this situation. “It is important that we do not end the season with fear and sadness. That we do what Muriel loved.”

 

Not only the death of the young athlete itself, but also the tragic circumstances concern those involved and the audience. Furrer was probably walking alone in a forest above Küsnacht at the time of the fall. That’s why we still don’t know how long it took until she was found.

The need for more information is great. The public prosecutor’s office and the cantonal police are investigating the circumstances of the accident; It is impossible to estimate how long it will take until results are available.

In any case, the issue of safety in cycling remains present. But in the end it is also clear to drivers like van der Poel, who study it extensively: “It is a utopia to believe that all dangers can be completely eliminated.”